MOTOGP: MARQUEZ BEATS ACOSTA IN A THRILLING PORTIMAO SPRINT
MotoGP Sprint race at Portimao delivered a thrilling show. Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta went head-to-head, Marco Bezzecchi sat right behind them, close enough to watch every move and join the action himself.
Bezzecchi made the best start from pole and kept the lead into Turn 1. Acosta held second, and Alex Marquez jumped forward two places into third. That pushed Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia back to fourth and fifth.
By the end of Lap 2, Acosta was glued to Bezzecchi’s rear wheel. At Turn 1, he made his move and took the lead. Marquez was also right there, ready to attack Bezzecchi. The top three began to break away from the rest.
On Lap 3, Marquez passed Bezzecchi into Turn 1, copying Acosta’s earlier move. Behind them, Nicolo Bulega crashed on Lap 4, and Joan Mir had to retire.
Soon after, Marquez tried to pass Acosta, but Acosta fought back. He took the lead again at Turn 5, but Marquez used the final corner to set up another clean pass into Turn 1. Only a few corners later, Acosta struck back again at Turn 5. Bezzecchi watched it all from a perfect position.
The fight was intense. Marquez and Acosta traded passes, and Bezzecchi waited for the smallest mistake from either Spaniard. With three laps left, Marquez seemed to have just a little more pace than his rivals. Bezzecchi was now close to Acosta, trying to find a way through.
At the start of the final lap, Marquez led by four-tenths of a second. Acosta pushed hard and closed the gap, but it wasn’t quite enough. Marquez held on to win by only 0.120s. Bezzecchi finished half a second behind in third, making it a memorable Sprint at Portimao.
Quartararo stayed in fourth, finishing a strong day for Yamaha. Di Giannantonio followed in fifth. Fermin Aldeguer won a tight fight for sixth, and Johann Zarco beat Bagnaia to the line, costing the Italian important points in the battle for third overall. Bagnaia was eighth, and Brad Binder took the final point in ninth.
More action awaits on Grand Prix Sunday.
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